Tag Archive: surf launching

This demo movie shows one person downloading a Wavewalk S4 from a vehicle’s roof rack, and carrying it from the parking space down to a rocky beach that we chose as a location for shooting video just because launching any other skiff from there would have been impossible.

I thought I’d re-post it on the occasion of it reaching 50,000 views. This sounds like a lot, but we posted in 9 years ago, in 2007. The boat seen here is the original W300, before the modification we did in 2008. The paddler is me, but I looked much better back then, and I was in better shape too 🙂

Back then I was still focused on the surf-play market… 😮 and good people like Gary Rankel, Jeff McGovern and Rox were trying to explain to me the advantages of the Wavewalk design for fishing 😀

The W300 was 10’4″ long and 25″ wide (this is not a typo). Unbelievably, Jeff and I managed to paddle one of these tiny kayaks in tandem 😀 (Jeff is bigger than me), and an Englishman named Jim McGilvray outfitted his with a 2.5 hp Suzuki outboard (and DIY outriggers).

Time goes by, and we’re not getting any younger, but at least our boats get better 🙂

When you paddle your Wavewalk in waves without covering the front end of its cockpit, some spray may get inside, especially if you paddle through big surf. The water is drained to the bottom of the hulls, and it flows backwards to the rear part of the hull tips. Altogether, this is rather insignificant.

When you drive a motorized Wavewalk in the ocean for a long time, at high speed and through waves, your boat generates more spray, and breaking waves can result in more water getting into the cockpit. A Spray Shield works to minimize intake from the front, but not from the sides. Some water may accumulate on the bottom of the hulls, at the rear end of the boat. A few gallons of water would be unnoticed, but having effective means to remove any amount of water at any time is highly recommended, simply because stuff happens, and you’d better be well prepared for any case.

Comparing different solutions

1. One-way valves

Many motorboats and sailing boats feature one-way valves at the rear end of their hulls. When the boat moves in the water at high speed, the low pressure behind its stern causes the valve to open, and pulls out the water that accumulated at the bottom of the hull, namely the bilge. A hull outfitted with such a valve is called ‘self bailing’. Needless to say that SOT kayaks described by their manufacturers as “self bailing” are not, and the misuse of this term is misleading.

After much consideration, we decided not to outfit the hulls of the Wavewalk with such valves, for two reasons, which are:

Unlike big motorboats, a Wavewalk can be dragged on the ground and over rocks, and this might damage the valves.

One-way valves can get jammed, and since the Wavewalk often goes in shallow water that’s mixed with sand and mud, and where vegetation can be abundant, the possibility of such malfunction cannot be disregarded.

2. Electric bilge pump

Battery recharged on board – Some small outboard gas motors (e.g. Tohatsu, starting at 4 HP) offer the option to add an alternator (electric current generator) and an AC to DC converter. Thus, the motor continuously produces an electric current that can charge a battery that would power an electric bilge pump and/or an electric trolling motor. This solution sounds perfect – just press or turn an electric switch, and bail the water out. And if you get an automatic pump, you don’t even have to remember to activate it. But a closer look at the details of this solution revels some problems:

Cost – The combined cost of an alternator and converter is around $450. The cost of a battery and an electric bilge pump would bring the total cost of this solution to over $500. It may not be a prohibitive price, but it’s still a considerable sum in the context of a Wavewalk boat.

Vulnerability – Keeping a battery and electric pump somewhere in your Wavewalk may not be enough, and you’d need to secure both, so that in case of an accident they would remain inside the cockpit and be fully operational when needed the most. This could prove to be somehow hard to achieve.

Battery not rechargeable on board- An electric bilge pump powered by a battery that isn’t being continuously charged makes sense, because unlike propelling the boat, pumping a few gallons of water out of its hulls require little power. The downside of this simple solution is having to remember to charge the battery before each motorized trip offshore, and the possibility that in case of an accident the system could stop working.

3. Hand bucket

Simply a square bucket with a handle (or without one) that fits into a Wavewalk hull, and used as a bilge bucket. It works, but only in case there is a lot of water in the hull, namely that the water is deep enough, and the user faces the water. But such a scenario is extremely unlikely, and in a typical case only a small quantity of water may accumulate at the bottom of the rear end of the hulls, that is far behind the driver. This said, it wouldn’t hurt to have a bucket on board, as an addition to the solution that we recommend, which is:

4. Hand pump

A 36″ long, lightweight hand pump costs $29 at Lowe’s. It allows to pump water from the rear end of the hulls while the user sits facing forward. This is a major advantage, ergonomically speaking, and in simple terms of convenience. The pump provides a sturdy, simple, and easy to operate solution that you can count on. The piston is lubricated by the water itself, and this makes pumping easy. Capacity wise, four strokes bail out one gallon, and since it’s hard to imagine having to bail out more than a few gallons at a time, the effort required is almost negligible. The pump features a simple filter at its end, and this prevents it from getting jammed. If there is a perfect solution, we think this is it.

This is the story of my trip across Buzzards Bay, to the Elizabeth Islands, a chain of small islands between Martha’s Vineyard and the mainland.

Before the actual trip…

My first trip was ‘preliminary’ to the actual one, because it was cut short due to time constraints – I arrived to the boat ramp in Gooseberry island at the Horseneck Beach Reservation, found the parking lot full, and headed back on the causeway. I parked a quarter of a mile down the road, next to a rocky beach, a.k.a. a ‘Rock Garden’. It was early in the afternoon, and by the time I launched, filled the gas tank, and tested the boat (and myself), I realized that since I’m a novice seaman, I’d have to drive slowly, namely at less than 5 mph, which would have made the trip longer than I had planned. That meant that I might have gotten back home too late, which is a no-no.

What’s left from that preliminary, or shall we call it ‘Test’ trip are the panoramic view of the parking lot and the beach, and the still images from the end of the trip, where I’m seen dragging the boat on the beach, and up the ramp, back to the parking lot. Joao, a local resident, shot these nice photos – Thanks Joao! 🙂

The actual trip

I came back the next day to the same parking lot, before noon. I wore blue shorts and and a blue shirt that’s identical to the one I wore the previous day – It’s called ‘Movie Continuity’ 😀 Speaking of continuity, the weather was identical in both days – sunny and beautiful. That wasn’t due just to luck, since I had planned this trip a week in advance.

Launching in that rock garden was a piece of cake. To start the motor, I dropped the anchor about 100 yards from shore, turned around in the cockpit so I faced the motor, added fuel to the gas tank (I did it standing up, using a long spout), and I started the motor in full comfort, like I would on a big boat. I turned around, which is easy to do in the W700, raised the anchor, grabbed the joystick, pushed in the choke, put the motor in forward gear, set the RPM, and headed to the islands. I drove at a leisurely pace, giving myself time to enjoy the ride and shoot video.

I had two cameras on board – a Sony 400 with a telescopic x63 optical zoom lens, and a Sony Xperia watertight smartphone with a 4K Ultra-HD camera, mounted on a selfie stick. I used both cameras, and it turned out that the 400 performed well, while the Xperia didn’t produce good results, mainly because I failed to operate it properly 🙁

Massachusetts South Shore, Buzzards Bay, and the Elizabeth Islands.

At about 6 miles from shore, Penikese island was closer, but I decided to go a little further, and land on Cuttyhunk island, which is 7 miles from where I launched. It just looked better the trough the telescopic lens of my camera…

I approached Cuttyhunk island, scouted for a good landing spot, and beached without a problem. I didn’t even have to step in water 🙂

As I was making my first steps on that beautiful beach, enjoying the pristine nature and solitude, my cellphone rang… It was my mother in-law, who was concerned about me 😀 That conversation added a comic touch to the situation…

I refilled the gas tank, and checked how much water got into the boat. I had a towel tucked in each rear hull tip, and both towels were almost dry, which is to say that hardly any spray got in. This is due to fact that I drove slowly and didn’t give the waves a chance to splash into the cockpit.

Going back

The first half of the trip back to the mainland was a not that pleasant – The wind had picked up, and the boat was getting hit by waves from 7 o’clock, which made it harder to drive. The joystick offered me the perfect means to drive responsively and with precision, as I needed to, given that the W700 is such a small boat. Comfort wise, it was perfect. Under these conditions, driving while facing sideways and gripping the tiller directly would have been hard, and even driving while facing forward with an articulated (U-jointed) tiller extension would have been somehow uncomfortable.

The motor didn’t sound like it appreciated the continuous abrupt alternations between acceleration and deceleration, as each passing wave projected the boat forward and then dumped it behind… It turned out that this 6 HP Tohatsu motor isn’t just quiet and easy to operate – it’s also reliable.

The second part of the trip back was easier. As I approached the shore and recognized the area from which I had launched, I allowed myself to drive faster, and even standing up, which felt great. Spray getting into the boat was no longer a matter for any concern as this stage, of course.

Beaching in the rock garden was a piece of cake, but I have to admit that due to the shallowness of the water I wasn’t able to drive the boat high enough to step on dry land, this time.

Dragging the boat up the beach and back to the car wasn’t easy… After a few steps I stopped, and I used a little manual pump that I had with me to get water out of the hulls. I also took the towels out and squeezed water out of them. Altogether, I removed a couple of gallons of water from the boat, which made it easier to pull it up to the parking lot.

The aftermath

Other than getting my face and knees sunburned, I feel no physical impact whatsoever. No muscle tension in my legs, not even the slightest sign of back pain, and no pain in my left wrist and forearm, which could have happened had I used the articulated tiller extension in such a long drive.

Thinking forward

The 6 HP Tohatsu outboard features an alternator, which means that it could feed the battery powering a small electric bilge bump, and thus turn spray into a non-issue. Some smaller Tohatsu outboards feature an alternator as well. Anyways, a long manual bilge pump such as many kayakers use would do equally well, I guess.

Kayak Fishing in the Ocean

Ocean kayak fishing means fishing out of a kayak, in the ocean. The kayak can be it a sit-in, sit-in-top (SOT) or a Wavewalk® kayak. Since kayaks are small vessels and in most cases they’re human-powered, namely under powered, and since kayaks expose their users to the elements, this kind of fishing typically involves some hazards and discomfort.

Hazards related to ocean kayak fishing

Fishing in the ocean is different from fishing in flat water in many ways. To begin with, the ocean is practically limitless, and unlike small bodies of water, it presents the danger of being lost at sea as a result of the action of waves, ocean currents, tidal currents, wind and darkness, or a combination of these factors. In addition, the large distances facing the angler and their kayak could be more than it is practically possible for them to go. Depending on circumstances, the angler paddling their kayak faces the dangers of capsizing, dehydration, sun stroke, hypothermia, exhaustion and disorientation. Anglers who fish out of motorized kayaks are mauch less exposed to these hazards, but they can capsize their kayak while driving it too fast.

The surf – a challenging part of the ocean kayak fishing trip

Unless kayak anglers launch and beach at a dock in a protected harbor, the surf is where they typically make the transition from land to sea, and vice versa. The surf is characterized by various hazards related to the presence of waves – from water getting into your kayak while you’re launching or beaching, to capsizing, getting your fishing tackle sprayed with corrosive saltwater, losing fishing gear, and just getting soaked and uncomfortable during the rest of your trip. Strong waves can even pin your kayak in parallel to the shoreline, in a situation known as ‘broaching’, without you being able to either get to shore or go into the ocean.

Launching any kayak in the ocean surf isn’t easy, and launching a kayak loaded with fishing gear and tackle is likely to be harder. However, launching a W fishing kayak is considerably easier, and it can be fun: You just get the kayak in the water and hop inside – as you can see in the demo movie below.

If you prefer to surf launch in a more relaxed way, you can just launch regularly from dry land, as shown in the first part of this video:

Tip for easier surf launching: When you ride the saddle seat at the rear of the cockpit, you raise your Wavewalk kayak’s bow, and by doing so you make it easy for the kayak to go over the incoming waves instead of going through them. This can make a big difference as far as the efforts required, the chances of succeeding, and the probability that you’ll get wet. This maneuver is possible only with a W fishing kayak, thanks to its long saddle, which offers its user to relocate fore and aft, and by that move the kayak’s center of gravity (CG) with them.

How to prevent your Wavewalk kayak from broaching –

If the waves drive your kayak to a fixed position that’s parallel to the shoreline (a.k.a. ‘broaching’), and your kayak happens to be a regular one (I.E. sit-in or SOT), then you’re broached, and your best bet is to try to get out of your kayak without capsizing it, and depending on what your plans are, either drag it out to the beach, or drag it in the water so it would face the ocean. But if you’re lucky enough to be in a W kayak, you’re not broached, since you can slide to the front of the cockpit, thus lowering the bow and making the stern go up. The bow will act as a pivot while the waves hit the stern and make your kayak face the ocean again. When this happens, you can swiftly reposition yourself at the back of the cockpit, and paddle out to the ocean. The reason why you want to do it from the cockpit’s rear is that it would make it easier for you to go over the incoming waves instead of having to go through them.

When this is done, you go back to paddling forward from a position in the middle of the cockpit, and most importantly: in the Riding position. Remember – the riding position is your position of choice in rough waters. Standing up is less stable, and sitting with your knees forward isn’t recommended at all in such conditions.

If you need to go pass big incoming waves, you should ride the saddle from the back of the cockpit. This makes your kayak’s bow go up, so you can go over the wave crests rather than have to go through them.

Important: Before entering the water make sure you’re wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device), and that all your fishing tackle and gear are secured to your kayak.

How to cope with lateral (side) waves?

Lateral waves can be a big problem if you’re paddling a sit-in or SOT kayak, but if you’re paddling a Wavewalk kayak they can be a source of fun if you’re surf playing – You paddle your W kayak in parallel to the beach, and let the side waves roll under you. You’d need to learn how to lean your kayak into the wave just enough to prevent it from being overturned, but don’t lean too strongly or else you might roll to the other side once the wave has passed under your kayak.

Tip: You should practice with your Wavewalk kayak in smaller waves before you tackle bigger ones.

The following videos show the Wavewalk S4 going in choppy sea and handling big wakes from a fast motorboat:

Capsizing your ocean fishing kayak

Some people believe that SOT kayaks are watertight, which in fact they aren’t, and some believe these kayaks are self-bailing, which they aren’t either. The ‘scupper’ holes are in fact structural elements that were introduced in the SOT hull to prevent it from collapsing as passengers sit on its top side (a.k.a. ‘deck’). These holes do not drain water out of the hull (yes, water does get inside, and when it does you can’t see it..) – they drain water only from its top side – the deck.

There is ample evidence to suggest that SOT kayaks can be hazardous to fish out of in the ocean. Read more on this subject » As for capsizing your Wavewalk kayak (it is possible to do so!) – If you bail out swiftly enough the W kayak is likely to stay right. In such case you can hop back in from the side (if you’re athletic enough) or slowly crawl inside from the back, with your legs balancing you and the kayak. If the Wavewalk 500 kayak is just laying on its side, chances are the side flotation would prevent it from overturning, and with some luck the kayak may even right itself back. Read more about side flotation ».

Both the Wavewalk 700 and Wavewalk S4 feature built-in flotation: Their saddle is a sealed compartment that provides 180 lbs of positive buoyancy.

Reentering a Wavewalk 700 is much easier than getting back into a W500, and getting back into an S4 is very easy. The following video shows a user reentering a DIY Wavewalk that’s comparable to a W700 –

Reentering a Wavewalk S4 is easier than this, and it’s most convenient to do so from the front.

If your Wavewalk Kayak gets overturned close to shore, the easiest and most sensible thing for you to do would be to let the waves wash it to shore. Once it’s there, pull it out to the beach, and drain it by simply overturning it. It’s easy and takes little time, and you can be back paddling immediately after you’re done. If your W Kayak is overturned far from shore, you can turn it back but when you do so one of the hulls will scoop some water in, and you’d want to pump or scoop it out (or at least part of it).

Remember the water at the bottom of one hull can be useful to counter-balance you as you reenter the boat from the other side. Once you’re back in the cockpit you can start draining it. Keeping a hand bucket or manual bilge pump on board is highly recommended.

Important: Capsizing your ocean fishing kayak in deep water can be extremely hazardous, and therefore it is strongly recommended never to go fishing offshore by yourself. Always fish in the ocean in the company of other boaters or anglers that could help you in case of an emergency, well as call for help, if possible.

Protection I: How to keep the kayak’s cockpit dry?

Spray isn’t that much of a problem when you’re a Wavewalk fishing kayak: The W kayak features a real cockpit and higher free board, which other kayaks don’t have. When you launch or go back to sea you can “climb” even big waves by standing or riding in the back of the cockpit and leaning backward -This way you’re lifting your W kayak’s bow in a steep angle and the waves normally pass under you. When paddling a W kayak in waves you get relatively little water in, and it is drained to the bottom of the hulls, where even a couple gallons might be unnoticed by you. You can also outfit your W kayak with a cockpit cover that will protect you and your fishing gear from spray. You can use a small tarp or any waterproof fabric or plastic sheet to cover the front of your W kayak’s cockpit.

Protection II: Do you need a dry suit, or a wet suit?

Anglers who fish in warm waters and hot climates may scoff at this question -Why would they care about getting wet? But anglers who fish in colder regions should be aware of the dangers of hypothermia, which can result not just from falling overboard, but also from being exposed to the wind while wearing wet clothes. This is to say that neither sit-in nor SOT kayak offer their users adequate protection from wetness, wind and cold, which is why people who fish from them in colder regions should wear either a dry suit or a wet suit. As for anglers who fish out of W kayaks, they are far better protected, and therefore their need to wear such protective clothing is reduced. Remember that a kayak angler suffering from hypothermia is basically helpless, and may not even be able to call for help using their cell phone when they’re offshore. Read more to learn about the danger presented to kayakers by hypothermia

Ocean Etiquette: Please be courteous

Beaches are sometime crowded. In many cases board surfers have no paddle, so they are both less protected and less mobile than you. A collision between you and a surfer may be harmless to you but it could be painful to the surfer. Always leave surfers enough space for surfing and maneuvering, even it means you’re losing a nice, big wave… -Don’t worry, there will be others, and you can always paddle around and do other fun stuff with your Wavewalk kayak…

If you cross paths with surfers let them pass before you.

When surf launching, make sure that no surfer is being thrown against your W kayak by an incoming wave.

If you’re driving a motorized Wavewalk, you need to extremely cautious about the presence of people in the water, as well as kayakers, board surfers and SUP paddlers who aren’t motorized, and might capsize when hit by the wake from your motorized Wavewalk.

Paddling your ocean fishing kayak in strong wind

Nearly all kayaks used for fishing in the ocean feature a rudder, since without it paddling in strong wind is practically impossible, as the wind deflects the kayak from its course. Sit-in and SOT kayaks track poorly to begin with, and they are prone to windage issues, but rudders are not necessary with Wavewalk kayaks, which track remarkably well even in strong wind, due to the fact that they offer their users the ability to harness the wind as a factor that helps them track. This effect is achieved simply by the user relocating themselves fore or fat along the kayak’s saddle – By doing so they relocate the kayak’s center of gravity (CG), and direct it either into the wind or away from it, depending on the course they want to take and on the direction from which the wind blows.

If you’re not an experienced or strong paddler, you would benefit from motorizing your kayak.

Paddling your ocean fishing kayak in strong current

Strong (fast) currents in are particularly dangerous, because they can carry you away from shore, into the ocean. Anglers whose kayaks aren’t outfitted with a motor are particularly exposed to this danger, because a current can be faster than the maximum speed they can achieve with their kayak just by paddling it, and because they may be exhausted after some time trying to paddle against the current.

If you’re not an experienced or strong paddler, you would benefit from motorizing your kayak.

Motorizing your ocean fishing kayak

A motorized fishing kayak is safer to use in the ocean since it offers the angler a chance to deal with strong wind, fast currents, and the long distances they may need to go in order to return safely to their launching spot, or to shore. Although motorized kayaks are heavier than non-motorized ones, driving a motorized kayak is certainly easier than paddling a non-motorized one. This is especially true after a long day of fishing and paddling, when the angler is tired, and it’s even more relevant for middle aged and elderly kayak anglers.

As far as deciding between an electric motor and an outboard gas engine, the latter is pretty much impossible to use with any type of fishing kayak except the W500. If you own a W kayak, you may want to read more about the advantages and disadvantages of electric motors and outboard gas engines in this article about motorized kayaks »

All Wavewalk kayaks can be easily motorized and used for offshore fishing. The S4 is the most suitable for this purpose, and so does the the Wavewalk 700, to some extent:

The following movie demostrates the capabilities of the Wavewalk 500 when motorized –

Dry storage

Ocean kayak fishing trips can be long, and you’d need to take plenty of gear on board, as well as carry fish you caught back to shore. Therefore, having plenty of dry storage space is a real necessity, and needless to say that you should be able to easily access everything you store on board, anytime you need to.

Other fishing kayaks feature hatches, which are small and in many cases hard to reach while you’re sitting on board. Unless the ocean is perfectly calm, waves splashing on your kayak would get water into the hatches. In contrast, the W500 kayak offers over 8 cubic ft (60 gallons) of dry, protected storage space, and all of it is fully accessible to you when your out there on the water. The W700 offers an even bigger storage, and the storage space on board the S4 is comparable to the storage space in a motorboat.